picky eater

[beta3chg]

Hi, this is my 1st post. I have 3 bettas in separate slightly less than 1 gallon tanks. Two are about 1-1 1/2 years old (Jazz and Blues). One is only about 6? months old, i got him in August. His name is kingsley. He is an extremely picky eater, and he won't eat anything but dried blood worms (the kind that they fed him at Petco before i bought him). I know this isn't good for him, but i tried to feed him other food (Hikari Beta Bio Gold baby size pellets, flake food) and he wouldn't eat them. He is fed 1 1/2 blood worms twice a day, at 6 am and about 10 pm. The water temp is about 69-71 F at all times, and he is a fairly healthy betta despite the bad diet. Is there any way to get him to eat other food?! Does anyone else have this problem? another thing...he was eating the flake food and blood worms for about 3 weeks when i first introduced the flakes, but now he's stopped. Also, my other fish will eat the pellets and the bloodworms, and Blues will eat the flakes (but not Jazz). The tanks are unfiltered, i change them 1 time per week. We have a water filtration system at my house, so i just use tap water that has been sitting out for a day to assume room temp. please answer!

[accountingchick]

Hello beta3ghg! Welcome to HB.

You mentioned that you keep the water temp between 69-71 degrees, that is a little cool. Bettas are tropical fish and need a warm steady water temp between 78-80 degrees. That could possibly be why your fish has a loss of appetite all of the sudden. Do you not keep heaters in your tanks? I would recommend that you do so if you don't. Also it is okay to just feed your betta bloodworms for now, since that is what he likes. Just try to offer him a variety every once in a while and what he won't eat, scoop out of his tank right away because it will ruin the water quality especially since you don't filter your tanks.

[beta3chg]

thanks for the advice! I don't know if they make small enough heaters, my tanks are less than one gallon. I don't want to overheat them...i've been keeping them in front of the heating vent in my/their room as a temporary solution, which has helped a bit.

[accountingchick]

I would recommend that you get larger tanks/bowls. Bettas need to be kept in at least one gallon or larger containers. When you keep them in containers smaller than one gallon, their water quality is not very good, and it is just not enough space for them to swim. If you are a little concerned about the cost of upgrading, look at your local walmart and see if you can find a one gallon kritter keeper they usually are inexpensive, and also they carry 7 watt heaters that are anywhere from $6-9 to get you started. The 7 watt only raises the water temp five degrees higher than room temperature, but it is a good start for now. I would also recommend that you take a look at the homepage of this website and look under the care section for some more helpful tips on care for bettas. Good luck to ya.

[beta3chg]

Ok, i'll try the 3 1gallon tanks. Thanks! also...about the small heaters, raising the temperature 5 degrees will be fine. Does it stop heating the tank after it has done its job? I don't want to boil my fish, and i can't be around to turn the heater off. Thanks again for the advice! Oh, and there's a happy ending: Kingsley is eating the flakes again. I think as long as i feed him bloodworms and flakes (not just flakes or pellets) he'll be happy.

[accountingchick]

beta3chg said:

Ok, i'll try the 3 1gallon tanks. Thanks! also...about the small heaters, raising the temperature 5 degrees will be fine. Does it stop heating the tank after it has done its job? I don't want to boil my fish, and i can't be around to turn the heater off. Thanks again for the advice! Oh, and there's a happy ending: Kingsley is eating the flakes again. I think as long as i feed him bloodworms and flakes (not just flakes or pellets) he'll be happy.

Sadly, the 7 watt heater does not shut off by itself. You have to constantly monitor it. Do you have any family that are home throughout the day that could check on it for you? Most 25 watt heaters shut off by themselves, but since they are made for larger tanks you would still have to monitor it througout the day. The best option that I can think of might be a little too expensive for you, and that would be upgrading to a 2.5 gallon tank so that you could use a heater that self monitors the temp of your water.

I am glad that Kingsley is eating a variety of food again. Bettas are picky eaters. If you keep offering him a variety, he should be fine.

[twoluvcats]

a 25w heater will work fine in a 1 gallon tank...you just need to be around for the first day (i.e. install it on a saturday) so that you can set the temp (it will take a little fiddling, but not much), once its set, it will keep the tank right at the temperature you want. I often use 25w heaters in my 1g hospital tank.

[accountingchick]

twoluvcats said:

a 25w heater will work fine in a 1 gallon tank...you just need to be around for the first day (i.e. install it on a saturday) so that you can set the temp (it will take a little fiddling, but not much), once its set, it will keep the tank right at the temperature you want. I often use 25w heaters in my 1g hospital tank.

Thank you for correcting me twoluvcats. I did not realize that the 25 watt heaters would work that well in a one gallon.

[beta3chg]

Great! I ordered 3 25 watt Hagen Compact Mini Heaters which should be here in a couple of days, my local pet store didn't have any. thanks again.